Patrick Oden :: Blog

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=223

Ever since my post on missional I’ve been neglecting the running commentary that is the Ravens. Been distracted. A mission, so to speak.

I’m going to continue being distracted from written commentary until next Thursday, so hold on, I’ve things brewing in my head but haven’t quite gotten the focus to get them down. Unless, of course, inspiration strikes and I just gotta write it down.

Have a wonderful, happy, joyous 4th of July!!

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=222

I post the occasional picture here. And like a lot of people I tend to post pictures of pretty things. Birds. Forest scenes. Islands. Waterfalls. Amy. Woodland creatures.

I was sitting outside working and a fly landing right next to me. It was a regular fly, no idea what species. But it had these great dark red eyes. I’ve noticed other flies with really amazing iridescent green back. They’re not as pretty as bees nor as unique as some of the other exotic bugs. They’re just flies. But they’re pretty amazing really. Worth taking a picture of every once in while.

So, today on Dual Ravens. A fly.

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=221

There are a lot of bloggers listed below and a whole lot of interesting thoughts being said. I’m trying to make my way through those over the next week and have already been pushed farther. I mentioned in a comment that I think reading through these blogs has been more worthwhile than a number of seminary courses I’ve taken. Gathering these all together, discussing one per session, would make for an amazing class for a church or anywhere.

Pat Loughery from In the Coracle has written a very, very interesting and unique post on the example of St. Aidan. He didn’t make it on the ‘official’ posted list because he was late to the party, but his post is very well worth highlighting.

Those who have followed me for a while know that church history is near and dear to my heart. It is, next to Scripture, one of the most important sources for understanding God’s work in this world, and yet it is also one of the very least focused on in all but the historic churches. There is even a distrust of church history, which is curious because God has defined himself in Scripture as the God who works in and through history. And he didn’t stop working when the Apostles died.

I love to see church history brought out in these contexts. I think maybe I’ve become discouraged about applying such things more directly, letting the influence come out in other ways but not bringing up my inspiration. Pat pushes me to maybe get back into being more direct.

By the way, if you’re interested in reading more about Celtic missionaries work on a more thorough level have a go at Light to the Isles by Douglas Dales, or the book Pat noted, An Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede.

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=220

It’s all the rage in this postmodern age to be missional. In fact, the words ‘missional’ and ‘postmodern’ go together quite nicely. Not just because one reflects the other, and vice versa. Also because they are the sorts of words people use without really knowing what they mean. Oh sure, people generally use those words with a meaning in mind, but oftentimes it’s a vague sort of meaning, riding the zeitgeist of the paradigm shift, so to speak.

It might be nice to just toss out the term–let it be adopted by church planters and the major presses as being a synonym for what’s new–but that doesn’t satisfy me. It is an important word and a descriptive word that gets to the heart of what we need to do.

In fact, I think this is such a big term that I don’t want to devote just one post to it. But for now I will, because I’m joining in on a big ol’ synchro-blog where a bunch of us are asking “What is missional?”

I’ve read my Newbiggin, and have some interesting quotes from the 17th century Baptist Roger Williams on the evils of Christendom. But there are better folks to lay out those things. I’m going to focus on my particular interest. And with that particular interest I’m going to go ahead and throw out my definition.

Missional means practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit.

For some that might bring to mind images of dancing around to lively music, speaking curious phrases that most no one can understand, and other attributes of Pentecostalism. But that’s not what I’m talking about. Pentecostals are fine, don’t get me wrong, and their global explosion over the last century certainly suggests an empowered mission far beyond most other representatives of Christ. Yet, being missional is a lot more than empowered worship. Because the Holy Spirit is about a lot more than putting on a show for us. Being missional means participation in the mission of God, and the missionary of God to us now, to all of us in the church and outside the church, is the Spirit.

What happens in Acts 2? They are in a room praying. The Spirit comes. Tongues of fire appear over their heads and tongues of men are spoken aloud. That’s where too many people stop reading. However, the chapter continues. The church doesn’t stay in the upper room. They go out, out into the streets where people from all the nations are gathered. Peter preaches, and the church grows. They go out, people come in, a continuing rhythm of transformational growth.

A great chapter. But for this post I want to emphasize two other passages in Acts that even better get at what practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit means.

Acts 8:26-40 and Acts 10.

Have a go at reading these passages. I’ll wait until you’ve read them. It’s quite important, you see, that we not only come up with a meaning for missional but that we let Scripture show us what it’s like.

Done?

Back at it. Don’t get distracted by the visions or the dreams or the curious popping hither and thither. Look at the heart of these passages. That is what it means to be missional. That is the practice of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Where is the Holy Spirit in these passages? Out and about. The Holy Spirit is working in the life of a Roman Centurion. The Holy Spirit is working in the life of an Ethiopian Eunuch.



The Spirit tells Philip to walk towards the Ethiopian. He runs. He not only runs. When he gets there he can immediately understand the passage the Ethiopian is reading and immediately respond to it, with Scripture and teaching. This isn’t a stock script telling the Ethiopian what his questions are. This is having the wisdom and training to respond to exactly where the Ethiopian is at.

Here is the first point of practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit. It insists on a flexibility that is deep enough to respond to any context. Evangelism in the past has catered to the shallow. This is true recently and in history. “Just go to church”. “Here are the five laws of salvation”. Theology and a mastery of Scripture was left to the professionals and almost seen as suspect.

Colossions 4:5-6

Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

Conduct yourself wisely towards outsiders. Making the most of the time. Be gracious. Be seasoned. Know how to answer everyone. Wisdom. Efficiency. Grace. Challenge. Understanding. This can sound a lot more daunting than just memorizing scattered verses in Romans. But it is the way of the Spirit, because the Spirit has been and is working in the life of people, preparing the way, inspiring others to plant seeds. Being missional is being like Philip, going and responding, built up in our own depth so that we can respond to the depths of others, where they are at, with what they are dealing with. It is a practice of the presence of the Holy Spirit because in doing this we are looking for how the Spirit has already been working in the life of others. We just fill in the blanks and put words to yearnings and answers to sometimes hard questions.

1 Peter 3:13-16:

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared. Be gentle and respectful. Be holy.

These are key works of the Holy Spirit in our lives, as I talk about in my book. Philip practiced the presence of the Holy Spirit and was able to participate with the Spirit’s work in the Ethiopian’s life, a work that is credited for the very ancient Ethiopian church. Philip didn’t need to go to Ethiopia. He needed to go to that Ethiopian. And the Spirit continued to work because Philip was prepared internally in his wisdom and character and externally in his fluidity and flexibility.

With Peter we see the same example. He responded to the Spirit, to go and be where the Spirit was already working, and when he arrived he was able to respond to what the Spirit had prepared. Added to this is another key aspect of practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in charge. Being missional isn’t about bringing our culture, or our customs, or our habits or preferences. There are some aspects of a life with Christ which are demanded, but very few of these are the emphases that people think of when they think of evangelism or missionary work.

Our goal is not to make people be like us. Our goal is to help people become who they were always meant to be. We aren’t in the business of taking people’s identity. We are to help them see how their identity becomes alive in the power of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the battery that brings machinery to life, the enlivening presence of God himself. We become alive, really alive, with the Spirit’s work. And so here we see Peter being told to let go of the cultural boundaries, to trust in God’s work that all has been made clean. He is supposed to minister to who they are, where they are, and lead them towards their own fulfillment in God’s work. It is not up to Peter to say whether or not they fit, or to conform them to his own perceptions. It is Peter’s job to go and to confirm what God is already doing.

Being missional means discovering God’s mission in every context. It is not just a telling it is also a listening, and a seeing, and a hearing. By being missional we ourselves become missionized by the Spirit as we learn and grow in understanding God’s work. It is never one-sided. We have our part to share but we always have parts to discover about the Spirit’s pervasive work.

When we are practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit we become dancers. The music is God’s mission in this world, which goes beyond simple salvation and extends into eternal relationship. God is working. Working in places we might never go, with people we might never meet, and in ways we might often not understand. In the dance with the Spirit we become attuned to his movements and as we increasingly dance better with God we dance better with others, teaching and learning, including and discovering in holiness, and outreach, and community.

In other words, when we practice the presence of the Holy Spirit we become truly free and are able to help free others where they are at.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17)

Being missional means participating with this Spirit; the Spirit of hope, and life, and wholeness.

Being missional means practicing the presence of the Holy Spirit so that we become freedom fighters.

Listed below are those who will be participating in this global synchroblog.

Alan Hirsch

Alan Knox

Andrew Jones

Barb Peters

Bill Kinnon

Brad Brisco

Brad Grinnen

Brad Sargent

Brother Maynard

Bryan Riley

Chad Brooks

Chris Wignall

Cobus Van Wyngaard

Dave DeVries

David Best

David Fitch

David Wierzbicki

DoSi

Doug Jones

Duncan McFadzean

Erika Haub

Grace

Jamie Arpin-Ricci

Jeff McQuilkin

John Smulo

Jonathan Brink

JR Rozko

Kathy Escobar

Len Hjalmarson

Makeesha Fisher

Malcolm Lanham

Mark Berry

Mark Petersen

Mark Priddy

Michael Crane

Michael Stewart

Nick Loyd

Patrick Oden

Peggy Brown

Phil Wyman

Richard Pool

Rick Meigs

Rob Robinson

Ron Cole

Scott Marshall

Sonja Andrews

Stephen Shields

Steve Hayes

Tim Thompson

Thom Turner

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=217

Right now, at 4:59 PDT the sun is exactly over the Tropic of Cancer.

Happy Summer!!

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=219

N.T. Wright, one of my favorite writers, was on the Colbert Report last night talking about heaven. Quite interesting… both the topic and how he did in that setting. It’s a hard topic to get across in such a short amount of time and with the jokes flying back and forth but I think he did a good job. Then again, I spend a lot of my time trying to sort out those kinds of things so maybe I’m not the best judge of how well he communicated. The fact he was on, however, is really interesting and might be among the nicest ‘theology in popular culture’ events I’ve seen in a long while. Hopefully, there will be more of that. Bringing theology directly to the people is a very needed task.

Here’s the clip:

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=218

It’s a thrill to find one’s own town featured in National Geographic… though maybe this isn’t the most fun reason.

We can see that Lake Arrowhead hillside, by the way, from our neighbor’s house (and from our house if there weren’t another house and trees in the way).

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=216

A bee flies.

But this isn’t a bee.

It’s a fly. A hoverfly. On my laptop.

You know what else can hover when it flies besides a hover fly? And can also sting pretty bad?

A Cobra. No, not the slithering kind. The Super kind.

An AH-1 helicopter. One after another, flying over Arrowhead.

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=215

Over the past few months I’ve had a chance to visit Portland on a couple of extended trips. Even more I visited Portland to visit someone who inspires exploration.

When I was up there last the weather was, frankly, not very inspiring. Overcast skies throughout, with regular rain and only very occasional glimpses of the sun (though these were handily placed on days that were set aside for being out, so it was okay).

But, even if the weather here in SoCal suits me just fine I have to say the restaurants there in the north are more my style.

A few stand out, and one has become what I think is my favorite place to eat anywhere.

I’m not fancy or looking for chic style or polished atmosphere. I’m looking for good unique food, in good unique settings, with fair enough prices. Having good beverages is a great plus.

First on my list is Queen of Sheba in Portland. It’s a no-frills, kind of a hole in the wall, Ethiopian restaurant located in a fairly nondescript part of Portland. The decor is pretty utilitarian and the space is pretty tight. But the food is very, very good, served in the traditional Ethiopian way.

The second is Noho’s. It’s Hawaiian food. Good sized portions, good prices, and authentic in taste and casualness. Maybe it helped that we ate there on a Sunday afternoon that actually had sun shining. But, I imagine having a taste of the islands on a rainy day would do a heart very good indeed.

The next one on my list isn’t at all obscure except for those who don’t live in the Northwest. It’s a chain. But that doesn’t quite describe it all that well. Because while we can assume that every Chili’s in the country looks pretty much the same, has the same menu, and atmosphere it’s absolutely not that way with McMenamin’s. We went to three locations during my visits. The first was McMenamin’s Tavern and Pool, located in Portland and lives up to its name, being a pub with pool tables. Nothing extravagant or particularly out of the ordinary. Good pub atmosphere, good food, and good drinks–I highly recommend the Terminator Stout. I remember it mostly, however, because it was the first restaurant I went to with Amy in Portland, on the first day of my first trip up there, just after spending a fair while at Powell’s bookstore. We were so cute and unsure and cautious about where things were going then. Now we’re just cute.

The next one we went to gave me a lot more insight into the McMenamin’s experience. On our way back from exploring the Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls we stopped at McMenamin’s Edgefield. McMenamin’s is unique in that they don’t just have little restaurants. They buy up historic sites and make a whole McMenamin’s experience out of them. Edgefield was built in 1911 as a European style resort. And it is still run this way, with a hotel, spa, and all kinds of other relaxing diversions, including a number of different places to eat and drink on the grounds. We ate outside, where mostly grilled food was served. I had a big ol’ hamburger, tater tots, and good conversation. A storm was beginning to arrive while we were there and for a little while, until the table with an umbrella next to us opened up, we sat and ate and drank while being gently sprinkled. There was lightning in the distance and a rainbow on the horizon.

The third McMenamin’s I went to was Kennedy School. And it was just that. A school, an elementary school, bought by McMenamin’s and made into a restaurant/hotel. Totally unique and fun.

The fun thing about McMenamin’s is that while the drinks stay the same, the menu’s are unique, with some exceptions, and they make it so a person wants to visit all the locations.

Next on the restaurant list is a good German restaurant, Gustav’s. There’s polka music playing as you walk in. They serve free lemonade while you wait for your table. There’s very good German food and a great selection of German beers. Can’t go wrong with that.

Finally, is what has become my favorite place to eat. Salvador Molly’s. They call it Pirate Cooking, and that’s not so much because the staff wear eye patches or fake parrots and says “arrrr!” a lot. There’s nary a “shiver my timbers” to be heard. So get that image out of your mind. Instead, it’s good world cooking, the kind of cooking that seafarers might find in a circumnavigation. The setting is as casual as can be found. It’s in a little strip mall, right across from a McMenamin’s in fact. But the food is extraordinary in diversity, portions, and price. More than that, however, extraordinary in taste. I had the Ginger Peanut Chicken Breast and Amy had the Kalua Pork. Because we were quite a bit hungry on that late afternoon we shared the Rasta Rings; well, we shared our meals too. Add to this the selection of mixed drinks–rum being their specialty. The service is great and relaxed, making us feel instantly comfortable.

After filling up on delicious food, I got out of my seat, sat next to Amy and we watched Big Brown entirely not win the Belmont Stakes.

So there you go. Those are my Portland culinary discoveries–places I fully expect to eat at the next time I’m in Portland and places that go a very, very long way in making the awful weather seem not all that bad.

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=214

Amy forwarded this to me, and I think it worth posting. From Story People:

He told me about Jesus & Arizona & the best way to make beer & I said you’re a funny kind of preacher & he said it’s a funny kind of world & I still remember his eyes clear as a desert morning.

It sums up for me what emerging/missional folks are trying to get to. Not the ‘make beer’ part, that’s just a random hobby that could be many things–no longer limited to a list of approved hobbies such as golf or fishing or Bible reading. Nor is it he part about Arizona that gets me. That’s an emphasis on knowing a place, being there and able to tell others about it–in contrast to always seeking the elsewhere, and the next ministry model far away from home. Its not even the part about Jesus. Lots of people talk about Jesus. And far too often talking about Jesus isn’t particularly an appealing description. People know about him, but far too many talk without knowing him.

It’s the last part that draws it together. His eyes clear as a desert morning. Suggesting peace and tranquility, being grounded without anxiety or frenzy. He is who he is. And this reflects back into what he knows. He knows himself and what he likes. He has a place, a location whose geography and personality he has mastered. He then talks of Jesus within that calm and clarity, inviting not through words but through aura and presence and calm.

I want to be he.